


Nowhere

by iamavacado



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Blood, Death, F/M, Fighting, Gen, Gore, Post-Apocalypse, new friend dan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-13 01:40:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7957303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamavacado/pseuds/iamavacado
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't even a month and a half ago that Arin had been going to dinner with his wife. Making episodes with Ross. Editing videos with Barry. Talking on the phone with his mom and dad. Living normal life. Back then, he would've laughed in the face of the person who told him the world would be ending soon. In fact, he did. He laughed right in the news' face.</p><p>Then things started to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nowhere

The road in front of them was empty of cars, littered with debris. Abandoned belongings, bloodied clothes, even some phones, left behind in a panicked sprint away from impending doom. Other than that, this rural road was completely barren. The leaves rustled in the soft wind, the only greeting they received when they entered another area. At least, what they assumed was another area, according to the road signs that haven't been knocked down. The last one Arin had noticed said they were in a city called Parkfield. He felt a little comfort in attaching a name to the road he and his new companion, Dan, were driving on. Although, they were probably out of Parkfield by now. Arin caught the name almost three hours ago, so they were probably in another place, another ghost town. It seemed like a small town name anyway. Parkfield. It sounded like a simple name. Simple place. Maybe a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sort of town. Maybe there were some peaceful families living there, going about their business. Maybe they dropped their kids off at school and headed out to work, chatting and laughing with coworkers over a hot cup of coffee. Maybe everyone knew everyone else. Maybe they were happy.

Maybe they were dead now, so it didn't matter.

Arin's hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, teeth finding his lips and starting to bite as that twist in his stomach began to come back. He didn't want to think about the deaths. He didn't want to think about the ravenous, blood thirsty, undead creatures that could be around any corner, ready and waiting with sharp teeth and even sharper claws. He wanted to think of his friends and family. The good times. The laughs and all the good things he shared with people he loved. He wanted to think of normality. How could he though, when the exact opposite was staring him in the face?

Dan coughed into his fist, which made Arin almost jump out of his seat. The sound reminded Arin of how silent it had been the past hour or so. He had been so lost in his own thoughts that he had forgotten about the passenger next to him. 

"So," Dan said, in an attempt to start up a conversation, "How close do you think we are?"

Arin almost wanted to laugh. That was his only attempt at chit chat? They were hundreds of miles from their destination, Dan surely knew this. They weren't even out of California yet, of course they weren't close.

However, Arin only knew that Dan was trying to break the silence, which had built up like a brick house between them. So he decided to humor Dan.

"Well, we're getting closer to San Francisco. Maybe we'll camp out when we get there."

"Maybe we'll run out of gas by then," Dan commented, eyes glancing at the fuel gauge. The car had a little less than half a tank left. It wasn't a fuel guzzler like Arin's old car was, but thinking a half a tank in a clunker like this would get them all the way to San Francisco was a bit of a stretch. 

"If we do, then we'll just have to walk," Arin said. "Nothing else we can do."

Dan visibly shivered, eyes darting to the window. "I don't want to go out there." He hugged himself. "Just the thought of being out there, among those _things,_ it's terrifying."

Arin nodded. He agreed with Dan. Even if the car didn't offer much safety. If a creature wanted to, it could break the glass of the window and grab Arin by the neck. Though it was comforting knowing there was at least one layer between him and them. 

Arin dared to cast a side glance from the road to get a look at Dan. He was staring out the window, apparently enthralled by the passing bushes and trees. The sun was just starting to set, shining brightly against the sky. The rays gave a soft glow around the edges of Dan's profile. His brown curls were edged in a bright yellowish orange, rustling slightly with the wind coming through the window, which was open just a crack. 

Arin had known Dan for 48 hours at most, but even he could tell that Dan wasn't the toughest guy in the world. He didn't know much about him, not even where he worked, but he could just tell. He wondered in passing how exactly Dan had survived this long alone.

Not like Arin was the type of guy who would fight a person at a moment's notice either, but whatever.

"So what did you do? You know, before, um, all of this happened." Dan looked at Arin, expectant. Arin didn't really want to talk about his old life, but at least Dan brought up a topic that could keep the conversation going for more than two minutes.

Arin cleared his throat, keeping his eyes on the road. "I had a show I did with my friends. It was a stupid little thing, but hey, it was money."

Dan perked up a little, sitting up more in his seat. "Oh, you had a show? Like, on TV?"

"Nah," Arin said, shaking his head, "It was on YouTube. We did let's plays together. We had like, three million or so subscribers I think." Three million subscribers. Were there even three million people left alive right now?

_God,_ Arin thought, _Stop being so morbid._

"Wow, that's a lot of people. Was it fun?"

Arin nodded, finding a smile on his face as he was hit with memories of what he used to do. "Oh yeah, it was awesome. It brought in good money too. I actually used it to buy a house for me and my wife."

Dan smiled the slightest bit. "You have a wife?"

Had one, Arin thought. He didn't say it out loud though. "Yeah, Suzy. Ah, she was the best. I love her."

Arin noticed the catch in his voice when he said 'was'. He was right though. She _was_ the best. But she wasn't around anymore. No one he ever knew was. That's why he ran. 

Dan noticed too. He stopped pushing the topic there, for which Arin was grateful.

"What did you do?" Arin asked, wishing to change the topic to anything but himself and his life. At this point, it hurt too much to discuss. It hadn't even been a month yet. 

Dan sighed, head turning to look out the window once more. The sun was setting quickly, turning the sky from a baby blue to a gradient of pinks and oranges. In no longer than two hours, it would be too dark to continue driving.

"I was the starving artist type," Dan said. He reached up to scratch the stubble on his chin. "I wanted to be a musician, write music, sing it, play it, become famous. That was the plan anyway."

He paused, running a hand through his hair and ruffling it a little bit. 

"I was in a few bands that never lasted very long. I sang in dives, underground bars, wherever they would take me. Hell, I even sang outside of a Wal-Mart one time.

"Nothing lasted. I was raking in pennies instead of dollars, barely enough to afford food. I got kicked out of my place at one point, had to camp out in my car. But I was having fun doing what I wanted to do, so I didn't even mind.

"Eventually I got sick of writing sappy love songs, and I got into comedy. Then I thought that maybe I could warp the two together. Comedic music. And I met a really cool guy, Brian, who was into the same thing I was. We got together and made a comedy band. We made these god awful music videos and put them up on YouTube. We started to get a decent following too, until, you know, the whole end of the world thing happened."

Arin looked over at Dan, who's eyes were glazed over with the memories.

"What was the name of the band?" He asked. Maybe he had heard of it.

"You'll laugh."

"I haven't laughed in weeks, a nice, hearty chuckle would do me some good. Lay it on me."

Dan hesitated, but eventually gave in. "The name was Ninja Sex Party."

At that, Arin did laugh. He laughed out loud. The title was funny, seemingly fitting for someone like Dan. "Oh, that's great. What did you sing about?"

Dan was smiling too, eyes crinkling up at the ends. "Everyone's three favorite things: Ninjas, Sex, and Parties. Although we did sing about the occasional dinosaur."

Then they're both laughing. Real laughs that Arin had missed. After a few seconds though, Dan winced, his laughter cut short. He held a hand over his stomach, a hiss escaping his mouth.

"You okay?" Arin asked.

Dan looked over at Arin, a hint of panic lacing his eyes. It went away so quickly, however, that Arin wasn't sure he had seen it at all. "I'm...just nauseous. I haven't eaten in forever."

Arin shook his head in agreement, instantly understanding. He hadn't eaten since he'd met Dan, which had been almost two days ago. Neither of them had been getting enough. The thought of food made Arin's stomach rumble, reminding him that they needed something soon. He had some waters in the back, a couple energy bars, and other food items. That would be enough, but god how he craved some Chinese right now.

"When we stop we can eat. I have some stuff in the back."

"Good," Dan said as he reached down to roll up his window.

They should stop soon. The night was coming quickly, and god knows those things out there would go for anything that moves, especially at night. In a moving car with headlights on, they were easy prey. 

Arin noticed a supermarket up on the left. That'd be a good place to stop for the night. He wouldn't be getting as far as he'd wanted to, but he felt the weight of sleep on his shoulders anyway. Dan was surely tired as he was, maybe even more so. Perhaps the store would have some supplies in it too.

"We can stop here," He said as he turned into the parking lot of the store. Other than one abandoned car, it was empty. If Arin looked close, he could've sworn he saw a duffle bag sitting in the car. Maybe it was worth checking out.

Dan sighed, obviously relieved that he could rest for a moment."Thanks," he said.

Arin drove to the farthest corner of the parking lot, away from the store and out of sight of the road. Once parked, he shut off the headlights, letting the quickly setting sun offer the only light for however long they had left in the day. He turned the car off.

"Okay, let me get some stuff from the back. We can eat, and call it a night."

Dan gave a noise of agreement as Arin stepped out of the car. Just he was about to shut his door, he heard Dan call his name. He leaned down to see.

"Yeah?"

Dan pointed to the button that controlled a little light inside the car. "Can I turn this on?"

Arin nodded. "Sure." He shut his door and took the few steps to the trunk. He flung it open, and took a look at the supply.

There was a suitcase that Arin had stuffed full of clothes and toiletries. He didn't need to change right now, and brushing his teeth wasn't really a priority either, so he wouldn't be opening that suitcase tonight. Next to that was a bag full of all the food he could take with him when he ran away that day. The office was always stocked with snacks, so he scooped it all up in a bag and took it for his own. Most of it was gone though, just snacks and candy and no real food. That was part of the reason why he stopped here, a faint hope that the store hadn't been looted dry.

Over to the right of it all was an old, wooden baseball bat. It was his only weapon other than his hands that he had in this crazy world. The edge of it was bloodied and a little chipped from where he had to use it. Thankfully he hadn't needed it in a while.

Arin's eyes glanced over to the abandoned car, and before he knew it, he grabbed that bat along with the bag of food and two waters. 

"Hey," he said as he opened the door and tossed the snacks in, "I'm gonna check out that car over there. I saw a duffel bag in there. Maybe there's something in it."

Dan looked panicked. "No way! There could be one of those monsters over there! It's only getting darker out here."

"Well do you want to come with me?"

Dan opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. He shook his head.

"Well then sit here and munch. I'll be right back." Arin shut the driver's door once again and started toward the car, swinging the bat up and letting it rest on his shoulder.

The car was old, beaten down. The red paint was scratched into oblivion. There weren't even any tires attached to it, it just rested on the ground. It was just sitting there, lonely and a little eerie, if Arin had to be honest.

He approached the car slowly, quietly, his hold on the handle of the bat tightening ever so slightly. He peered inside the back seat window. Arin was right. There an old army bag sat zipped up, just begging to be opened. Arin pulled on the door handle, having to pull a few times before the door actually opened. Arin reached inside and grabbed the bag. It was heavy, filled with something that clanked against itself. Was that glass?

He unzipped it, and came face to face with four bottles of whiskey. Arin almost wanted to laugh. Of all the things he could've found in the apocalypse, he found a stash of whiskey that someone didn't want anymore. What did he need with whiskey? Arin never drank, never wanted to. He had taken a shot now and then, but never for the sake of getting drunk.

Oh well. It was there. Why not take it?

Arin hurled the bag over his shoulder, smiling to himself as he started back to his own car. Dan was watching from his seat, chowing down on a bag of chips. 

"I found some booze," Arin said as he got into the car. He tossed the bag in the back seat. "If you're into that."

Dan shook his head as he downed the rest of his chips. "Not really. Maybe we could use it though. For injuries or starting a fire or something."

"Why would we need to start a fire?"

Dan shrugged. He laid back in his seat, pulling his jacket hood over his head. "Are we going to check out that store?"

Arin nodded, opening a bottle of water. He took a long swig out of it, feeling the cold all the way down into his stomach. It felt good. "We can check it out tomorrow. Maybe there's something in there. Maybe there's just gross zombie creatures. Whatever. Let's try and get some sleep."

"Yeah, okay." Dan turned in seat to try and get more comfortable. He stopped after a second, whispering a curse to himself as he held his head.

"Dude, what is up with you?" Arin asked.

Dan didn't turn back around. "It's just a headache okay? I'm fine. Just tired."

Arin cocked an eyebrow, but didn't question Dan any further. He laid his head against the head rest, and tried to do just that. Rest. He was exhausted too. Driving may not seem like the most eventful activity, but it was hard on him, mentally taxing. Every mile away from his real home hurt a little more than the last.

He dared to think about home while it was quiet. During the day, now he had Dan to talk to, to keep him company. Along with the constant worry of running into one of those creatures on the road, he was occupied while the sun was up. When it went down though, when things got quiet, he was alone with his thoughts.

He didn't try to hold them back, it was useless. So he let the floodgates open, let all the thoughts spill out like a montage.

First Arin saw his wife. Suzy. It was the day of their wedding. She looked ethereal in her dress, like a goddess from some other world that he was afraid to touch and soil. But they were kissing, holding each other like they never wanted to let go of one another. They were smiling like nothing could ever dampen their mood again. They were in love. They were happy.

Then there was Ross. His friend whom he'd known for years upon years. They were skyping, laughing at the stupid jokes exchanged between them. Then he was hugging Ross as he got off the plane to visit America for the first time. They were smiling, being quirky together, comparing drawings and eventually working side by side. He was shaking hands with Holly, as happy for Ross on his wedding as he was for his own.

Next, Barry. Arin never remembered a moment he didn't know Barry. He just woke up one day and they were friends. He saw himself secretly jealous of Barry for a short while because he was just so _cool._ He saw Barry at his desk, fallen over asleep because he pulled two all nighters in a row. They were always linked together.

He saw his mom, his dad, his brother, everyone he had ever known. They were all gone. They were all dead. They were all monsters. 

Arin glanced over at the bat sitting between he and Dan. The blood of his wife was dried on the tip, as if its sole purpose was to remind Arin that he was a murderer. 

_'That's enough for tonight',_ Arin thought to himself as tears began to sting the back of his eyes, _'I'm going to bed'._

***

The night seemed to pass quickly. Arin woke up feeling more tired than he had before he fell asleep. More cramped too. Even a month of sleeping in a car wasn't enough for him to get used to it. He stretched his limbs out as best as he could, cracking his back in the process. He yawned, looking over at Dan, who was still asleep. 

His head was against the window, hair forming a sort of curtain around his face. His mouth was hanging slightly open. Arin couldn't see much of Dan from this angle, but his skin looked so pale. Maybe he was sick. All the more reason they should search the shop and look for some medicine. Dan did mention he had a bad stomach.

Arin hated to wake him, he looked peaceful, probably more peaceful than Arin was in his sleep, but they had work to do. They really needed to search that store. The few that Arin had dared to go into had been empty of supplies and full of those creatures, but he had a good feeling in his gut. There was something in there other than bloodstains. Something good.

Arin grabbed Dan's shoulder and shook it ever so slightly. Dan didn't so much as stir.

"Dan," Arin said. "Dan, you gotta wake up." Dan still didn't move. A hot seed of worry dropped into Arin's stomach. He couldn't help it now. He took a breath, trying to not panic immediately.

He shook Dan a little harder than before, calling his name louder. This time, Dan did wake, much to Arin's relief. What was he so afraid of? That Dan was dead or something? _'Geeze Hanson, don't overreact to everything.'_

"Hm?" Dan rubbed his eyes and stretched his own limbs, sounding more like a popcorn machine than a human. He yawned, then took his hood down and unzipped his jacket halfway. "What are we doing?"

"We're checking out that store. I have a feeling there's something good in there. Come on. Wake up, take a drink of water, and then we can get going."

Arin opened his car door and stepped out into the sunlight with bat in hand, stretching once again. The air was hot and dry against his face as he stared at the sky, which didn't have a single cloud in sight. The sun was well over the horizon, however. He has slept later than he meant to.

Dan stepped out of the car too, taking in a deep breath through his nose. "Nice day." He looked over at Arin, who was giving him a look that said, come on, let's go already.

Arin started to walk in the direction of the store entrance, swinging his bat around in lazy circles, when he heard a sort of choking sound behind him. His grip on the weapon tightened on instinct as he turned around and saw Dan on his knees, vomiting.

"Holy shit Dan!" Arin dropped the bat and ran over to him. Dan hadn't eaten much last night, but the little he did get was now on the pavement, along with...was that blood?

"Dan, what is going on? What happened? Are you okay?" He kneeled down next to Dan, who was just dry heaving at this point.

"I don't--I don't know--f-fuck..." Dan tried to say something else, but he couldn't get a word out before he gagged again. Arin held him up until he was done, then helped him up and led him to the car. Dan leaned on the car, trying to stand up straight with a hand over his stomach, grimacing.

"What the hell is going on?" Arin asked, more venom in his tone than he meant there to be.

Dan took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I'm sick dude, I'm sick. I'm not...fuck." He paused again, regained his balance. "I'm not used to this. Eating crumbs every couple days and sleeping in cars. No offense to you. You've been a huge help to me but, god man, I'm not used to living like this."

"Didn't you live out of your car?"

Dan scoffed. "Well yeah, but it wasn't the end of the world. I just...I hate this. I want to go home. I want to see Brian, I want to hug my mom, I want to be with my sister, I want to eat dinner with my dad and-and be fucking normal." He let out a shaky breath, reaching down to zip his jacket up all the way.

Arin stepped closer to Dan, resting a hand on his shoulder. He would go to hug him, but frankly, he didn't want the smell of puke on his last clean shirt.

"I know you want to go home dude. I know. But, we just have to make the best of it. We'll be okay. We aren't one of those _things._ We're still human. There's still hope."

Dan took another breath, gave a nervous laugh. "I guess so."

"You wanna stay in the car?" Arin asked, walking over to pick up his bat.

"No, no, I'll go. I'll be fine. I was just...I'll be fine. It's fine. Let's go." Dan straightened his clothes, rolling up his jacket sleeves and falling into stride next to Arin. Arin offered him the bat. 

"Wanna hold it?" He asked. Dan shook his head.

"You're probably more handy with it than me."

Arin shrugged, and swung it over his shoulder once again. How this guy managed to survive by himself with no weapon all this time, Arin would never know.

***

The store was eerily silent. Arin wasn't sure what he expected. Maybe the sounds of looters trying to rob the store of its last goods. Maybe the growls of those things echoing against the walls. Maybe the sound of some poor sap who happened to run into one being sliced to pieces. Anything. But there was just silence. Even their shoes didn't make that much sound against the tile floor as they walked up and down the isles.

Most of the store was scraped dry, but they managed to run across some decent supplies. Some water, gum, pain killers, and a box of matches. Arin actually made Dan take a pain killer right there in there in the middle of the isle just to hold him over for later.

"So that's all that's in here?" Dan asked, motioning to the bag that had been slung over Arin's shoulder. Arin nodded.

"Well, we went over the whole store isle by isle. There isn't really anything else here."

He looked at the shelves, though, as he passed, just to be sure. The both of them had scoured the whole store, but it wouldn't hurt to triple check. What they had picked up wasn't much, but Arin was grateful for the few things they had found. He hadn't had much water to begin with when he left, and having to start suddenly splitting it with another person had left him secretly uneasy. He would rather be swallowed whole than dehydrate or starve to death. The gum, pain killers, and matches were just icing on the survival themed cake.

"Did we check the back room?" Dan asked. "Maybe there's--"

Dan was cut off by a loud sound to the right. Arin stopped dead in the middle of the isle and, almost on instinct, he held it in a fighting stance, bag dropping to the ground. During the motion however, he accidentally elbowed Dan right in the stomach. Dan screamed a loud curse as he reeled back and fell to his knees.

"Fucking....god!" He held his stomach with one hand, propped himself up with the other. Arin looked curiously at him as a white and orange cat scurried by as fast as it can. Why was Dan reacting so horribly? Sure, Arin should have watched what he was doing, but he didn't stab him for God's sake. Why was Dan on the ground, looking like he was going to hurl for the second time today?

Arin took a step towards him. "Dan, are you...okay?" He reached his arm out to offer Dan some help.

"Don't _touch_ me!" Dan nearly screamed. His head snapped up and glared at Arin and suddenly, he saw. He saw the fraction of a second where Dan's brown eyes flashed into black, and he seemed, if only for a second, a little less than human. A little less human, and a little more like something else.

A little more like a monster.

Arin's heart skipped a beat as he ripped an angry hand through his hair, feeling stupid, so stupid. "Oh _fuck_ me," he said. He held the bat in front of him, aimed at Dan and ready to strike.

Dan took in a shaky breath. He ended up in a hacking fit, coughing up the thick, black blood that was the tell tale sign of someone turning. He had seen this blood more than once. Out of his wife's mouth and his own brother too. He knew what it meant and he immediately felt vulnerable, afraid. Arin took a step back, not wanting to be anywhere near the... _thing_ Dan was turning into.

"Arin...Don't kill me, please. Wait a second." Dan stood up on shaky feet, wiping the black fluid off the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He took a step closer to Arin, eyes pleading. Arin raised the bat.

"Stay away from me. Stay away or I swear to god I'll fucking kill you."

Arin was so stupid. The wincing, the stomach grabbing, the headache, the puking. How had he not realized it sooner? Dan was fucking turning right next to him and he didn't even notice. He could have been killed in his sleep and wouldn't have realized what was going on until it was too late.

Dan held his hands up in surrender, doing as he was told. He stepped back. "Arin, I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry I-"

"Where were you bitten?"

"What?"

"Where were you _bitten?"_

Dan's eyes fell down to his stomach. He slowly unzipped his jacket, revealing a shirt that had a brownish crimson stain the size of a dinner plate on it. He lifted up the shirt, and Arin almost wanted to puke and scream at the same time.

There was a clear bite the size of a fist, smack dab in the middle of his stomach. The skin was dark, rotting, bloody and raw. Muscles were showing from the bite, and blood trickled out of the wound, down his stomach. If Arin looked close enough, it looked to be pulsating ever so slightly, like it was pounding to the beat of his heart. Red streaks splayed out like fingers from the wound and up his stomach, trailing up his chest. It was like blood poisoning times ten. 

Arin had sat in the car next to that thing. He had offered it food, water, shelter, friendship. He was harboring the thing he had been trying to run away from.

Dan let his shirt fall back down. He looked up at Arin again. "I can explain, Arin."

"Explain what? You can't _explain_ something like this away! You're fucking turning! I can't fucking believe.." Arin took a breath. He was getting dizzy now, he was so angry with himself. He should've known. He should've known better than to pick up strangers. Now he was probably going to die and it would probably be his fault. "I can't believe you lied to me."

"I didn't lie, Arin, I--"

"You didn't tell me!"

"Because you would've killed me! Or--or left me on the road!"

Arin couldn't help but laugh. "Damn fucking right I would've left you on the road! You think I need this? You think I need to worry about you turning with me in the car? Why the FUCK would you put someone in danger like this?"

Dan's eyes were sad. He looked genuinely sorry he hadn't told Arin. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Arin, please. We can get to Seattle and they'll have a cure. They have one there, I heard it. If we can just get there before it's too late."

Oh, this was rich. "So that was your plan? Huh? Use me to get to Seattle for your non-existent cure? There is no fucking cure Dan, is already IS too late!" Arin's grip tightened against the handle of the bat until his knuckles were white. He could end this, right here, right now. He just needed a good angle. It was a long shot to kill him in one hit, but Dan was scrawny. Hitting hard enough in the right spot would probably do it.

"There is a cure. We can get there." Dan clasped his hands together, begging. "Please Arin, _please._ It isn't too late, there's still time. There's still t--"

Dan suddenly paled. Not like a person who was sick would pale. All color drained from his face instantly. He suddenly looked like a skeleton as he stood there, in the middle of the store isle. His knees shook a little before he completely collapsed onto the floor. It was Arin's instinct to reach out to him, but he stopped himself before he did. He was not going to touch that thing.

Dan doubled over on the floor, clutching his stomach and making the most awful sounds. He sounded like he was in horrible pain. His eyes faded to black and stayed that way this time. This was it. He was turning. It was happening. It was too late.

"Run," he croaked out.

Arin didn't need to be told twice.

He scooped up the bag of supplies and sprinted out of there. It would be less than a minute before he was completely turned. Then he would be after the closest piece of meat, which would unfortunately happen to be Arin. A minute wasn't enough time. 

Arin ran. He ran as fast as his legs could manage. Everything was a blur. He was terrified that this would be the day he would finally leave this Earth. The fear of death was always there in the back of Arin's mind, but now it was the only thing there, and it was suddenly a very real possibility. 

He made it to the car, shoving the supplies inside and slamming the door shut, locking it. Not even taking a second to breathe, he turned the keys in the ignition and started the car. His hand was just moving down to put it into drive when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure running out of the store. He couldn't help but look, and he couldn't help but scream at what he saw.

Arin knew without a second thought that it was Dan. But it didn't look like him at all. Dan's skin was a deathly gray, stretched taught against his bones, which looked like they were almost popping out of his skin. The wound in his stomach shone prominently now, gushing black blood and pus everywhere. His teeth were long and razor sharp, jutting out every which way. But his claws were just as sharp. They were ragged and long, and they looked like they could slice anything to pieces in one swift swing. And it was sprinting straight towards Arin with a supernatural speed, black eyes trained right on him.

Arin had never hit the gas pedal so fast in his life. He slammed his foot down as hard as he could, and the tires squealed against the pavement. The car didn't get traction fast enough though, because Dan was suddenly at the window, clawing at the glass. When that didn't work, he pounded on it, breaking it with one punch. Glass showered Arin and he screamed as Dan reached in the car. 

Arin felt his hair being pulled hard, and he was actually lifted out of his seat as Dan attempted to yank him out of the window. It was accidentally cut by Dan's claws however, which gave Arin the millisecond he needed to climb to the passenger's seat. He looked into the bag of supplies he had miraculously remembered to take with him, and his eyes landed on the matches. Then he was reminded of the whiskey in the back, remembering the words Dan had said just the night before.

_"Maybe we could use it though. For injuries or starting a fire or something."_

Fire.

Dan started to climb in through the broken window of the car, clawing at Arin viciously. Arin shoved the matches in his pocket and opened the passenger door to get out of the car, but not before he felt Dan's claws rake his side. He screamed a curse and almost fell on the ground with the amount of pain he felt. It was such an intense, concentrated pain; he could already feel the blood staining his shirt. But he couldn't examine the cuts. Not yet. 

Arin stumbled back, bat in hand, holding it high over his head. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, black spots pulsing at the edge of his vision. All he could see was Dan. All he could think was 'survive'.

Dan lunged out of the open door at Arin. Before he made contact though, Arin brought the bat down in a hard swing. A crack sounded in the air and Dan fell to the ground, writhing. If Dan were still human, the impact would've killed him on the spot. But he wasn't human anymore, and that one swing wouldn't hold him for long.

Arin flung the backseat door open and reached in for the duffel bag. He unzipped it and took out one of the bottles of whiskey. It was 50 percent alcohol, so it was flammable, but would it be enough?

It would have to be, Arin concluded. He ducked out from inside the car and turned around to where Dan was laying. Except, he wasn't laying there anymore. He was standing up, shaking his head as if to clear it. Then he threw himself at Arin with a hiss. Dan swept Arin from under his own feet and pulled him to the ground. Arin's bat went flying out of his reach as his head smacked against the asphalt. The sudden impact dizzied him, but he was brought back to reality soon enough when the black fluid dripped from Dan's hungry mouth onto his face. It was hot, almost burning against his skin.

Arin wrestled with Dan to keep from being bitten. Dan was on top of him, and was fighting relentlessly to rip Arin's flesh from his body. He looked as if he were even grinning, happy to be killing someone.

Arin felt another hand of claws dig into his arm, eliciting a horrible sound from the back of his throat. It hurt. It hurt so much. The pain started to cloud his brain and he almost felt like he were about to pass out. If he blacked out here, he was as good as dead.

Unable to reach his bat, and not able to fight back bare handed, Arin swung the whiskey bottle up at Dan and broke it over his head. The alcohol showering over him seemed to distract him just long enough for Arin to wiggle out from under him and stand up. Blood soaked his shirt and trickled down his arm, but he had to keep going. He was driven by the animalistic need to survive, to get out alive and get out of _here._

Dan was soaked in the alcohol. His clothes, his hair, it was all over him. But Arin wanted to make sure that this motherfucker would burn. He wanted it to take one match, he wanted to be certain.

Arin ran around the car and reached in the duffel bag again, pulling out another bottle of whiskey. He waited for Dan to get close before smashing the bottle against his head again. The impact this time was harder, more angry, and Dan actually reeled back a few steps. 

Arin took the box of matches out of his pocket.

He took one out. Struck it against the side of the box. It lit.

Dan looked up at Arin, hissing and gurgling. He snarled, and took a jump toward Arin.

He threw the match.

Dan lit up like a Christmas tree. The flames erupted against his skin and clothes, burning so bright and so hot so quickly that Arin stumbled back away from the sudden heat. He watched as Dan scrambled around, screaming loud enough to break the sound barrier. He hissed and choked and snarled and tried desperately to pat out the fire.

He fell to the ground, flailing limbs and fizzling skin and horrible cries. And the smell. The smell of this thing's flesh scorching was worse than anything Arin had ever experienced. But it was worth it, because after a few seconds, the screams stopped, and Dan went still.

Arin tried to look away. He tried to get in the car and go, but his eyes were drawn to the flame. It burned brightly, smoldering what was left of the man Arin had called his friend the night before.

When the fire faded out, so did Arin's adrenaline. He felt dizzy, tired, aching. His arm and side burned. He really felt like a nap right now. But he knew that was only because of the amount of blood he had lost during the fight. Now that Arin looked around, he saw that there was blood everywhere. Black and red blood alike. Dan really did a number on him.

Arin reached up and tenderly touched the patch of space where Dan had yanked out his hair. His fingers came back bloody.

Man, Dan really fucked him up, didn't he?

Arin stumbled around to the back of his car and opened the trunk. He reached inside his bag and pulled out a shirt of his that had long sleeves on it. After a bit of pulling, he removed the sleeves and stretched them as much as they could be stretched. He scooped up a hoodie while he was at it.

Arin made his way into the driver's side of the car and sat down, locking himself inside. He lifted his own shirt and looked down at the slices Dan had made. They were deep, still bleeding. The cuts on his arm were much the same. Arin took off his current shirt, dabbing the blood off his cuts and tossing it in the back seat. He stuck his hand in the duffle bag and pulled out the third bottle of whiskey. 

"Okay..." he said to himself as he twisted off the lid. He held the neck of the bottle over the lacerations on his side. "Grit your teeth and make it through."

Arin tipped the bottle over just a bit, enough for a few drops to land in the cuts. He took a sharp breath in through his teeth. It burned hotter than fire in just those few drips. But the gashes needed a few more than a few drops. Arin took in a breath, and poured a good amount of the whiskey on his wound.

"MotherFUCKER!" He screamed. It stung, almost as bad as the initial cut. But he couldn't risk getting an infection. 

He did the same with the slices on his arm, and it went much the same way. Arin then lifted the whiskey to his lips and downed the rest of the alcohol in one swig. It burned going down, but damn if it didn't feel good.

Arin took the stretched out sleeves and used them to wrap around the cuts on his side and the ones on his arm to staunch the bleeding. After a quick once over to make sure he hadn't been bitten, he concluded that he was, at least for the time being, safe. He then slipped the hoodie on and pulled the hood over his head. With a heavy sigh, he let his head fall back against the headrest.

He let his head flop to the side, where he saw how low in the sky the sun was. It was starting to set, the bright blue sky just starting to fade into a soft orange. It was in that weird in between period between day and dusk. Arin found this strangely relaxing.

"Man," he whispered to himself. What a day. He was completely exhausted.

Arin had went from having a family, to being alone, to finding a potential friend, to being alone again. This whole end of the world thing had felt like it had gone on for years.

It wasn't even a month and a half ago that Arin had been going to dinner with his wife. Making episodes with Ross. Editing videos with Barry. Talking on the phone with his mom and dad. Living normal life. Back then, he would've laughed in the face of the person who told him the world would be ending soon. In fact, he did. He laughed right in the news' face. 

Then things started to change. The day Ross came into work with a bite on his hand. The day he freaked out and bit Barry. One by one, his closest friends were picked off by each other, until it was he and Suzy huddling in a closet with a bat clutched to his chest.

"Arin?" She asked. Her eyes were sunken in. Her skin was pale. She had been puking all morning.

"Yeah?"

"You know I love you." 

Arin nodded. "I love you too."

Suzy reached down and slipped her wedding ring off her finger. Then she took off her necklace. She let the charm on the chain fall to the ground, and she put her ring on it. She reached up and clasped the necklace around Arin's neck.

"Keep this with you," she said. Arin gave her a final kiss.

"I will."

They stayed silent until Suzy completely collapsed. Arin brought the bat down hard before she had a chance to wake up as a monster. 

Arin reached up and felt the cold chain to make sure it was still there. In all honesty, he had forgotten about it until now. The simple touch brought him back to reality. He stopped letting his thoughts wander for the sake of his own sanity.

Arin decided to stay here in the store parking lot for one more night. He wanted to have a good sleep before starting out driving again. 

He pushed his seat back and got into a comfortable position, instilled with a new vigor to stay alive. 

As long as he was breathing, there was still hope.

**Author's Note:**

> I had a blast writing this and I am incredibly proud of it. Do you have any thoughts? Criticism? Praise? I'd love to hear from you.
> 
> Also, this was inspired by @grumpygamersandvibrantcolors' apocalypse au, which you should totally read.


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